Riding the 'Schmooze Cruise' From Newark to D.C.

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Passengers aboard the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce's annual train trip to Washington on Thursday.
Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

By

Heather Haddon

Jan. 31, 2013 10:17 p.m. ET

Bloody marys were poured Thursday morning by the staff of New Jersey's leading banks. There were buttons, chocolate boxes and hamburgers handed out to make a political point. And even a little bit of business got done.

Conceived 76 years ago as a vehicle for businessmen to glad-hand with New Jersey congressional representatives over dinner, the annual New Jersey Chamber of Commerce train trip to Washington, D.C., is still known as the "schmooze cruise" for a reason. On board a chartered Amtrak train Thursday, hundreds of New Jersey politicos and businesspeople squeezed through 14 cars for a chance to speak with—and drink with—elected officials and corporate executives.

Investors Bank sent a senior vice president, John Nietzel, and five staff members who, at around noon, laid out a spread of candy, drink mixers and vodka to help fuel conversation. "It's high energy," said Mr. Nietzel. "People come to us."

The Newark-to-Washington train ride, along with the dinners, receptions and after-parties that follow in the capital, has survived scandal and new ethics laws to become a uniquely New Jersey tradition. It is anticipated for weeks, and participants spend $690 for a round-trip train ticket, dinner and reception. (Chamber members receive a discount.)

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New Jersey politicians wait to board their annual train in 1966.
New Jersey Chamber of Commerce

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This time, 40 state Legislators, nine congressional members and one former governor were on hand for either the train ride or the evening's official dinner in Washington. Gov. Chris Christie skipped the train, as he has in past years, but delivered the keynote speech Thursday night.

"It levels the playing field," said chamber spokesman Scott Goldstein. "This is an opportunity for all business leaders, whether it's a CEO or small-business owners, to talk to our elected officials."

Started in 1937, the chamber has sponsored the trip annually, only relocating it to Newark for a few years during World War II.

"There weren't that many women on the train in the old days," said former Gov. Brendan Byrne, who began riding the train in 1956 as assistant counsel to former Gov. Robert Meyner. The 88-year-old lawyer completed his 50th trip on Thursday, riding in the middle car where top officials sat.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, the train gained a reputation for being alcohol-soaked and an uncomfortable environment for female passengers.

"Back in the day, it was a rowdy ride," said Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, a Democrat who started riding in the 1990s.

"People were carried off the train drunk," said Democratic Sen. Ray Lesniak, a legislator since 1978 who once regularly rode the train.

The trip gained national attention in 1996, when "60 Minutes" aired unseemly images of lobbyists courting politicians on board. The ride continued the next year, but the politicking was tempered. The trip was further cleaned up after new political ethics laws took effect in 2006 that limited campaign contributions from contractors.

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A chartered Amtrak train takes on passengers in Trenton for the trip Thursday.
Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

"I've avoided it in the past," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, who boarded the train Thursday because it was an election year in New Jersey. "It was born of the day of party bosses, and we still have party bosses."

The Internet has also had an effect. "In the era of camera phones and recorders, I think people have chilled out," said Adam Bauer, Senate GOP spokesman.

Attendance has dwindled from upward of 1,300 in the 1990s. More than 900 were on the train and at the dinner this time, up from 700 in 2010 and 2011. Attendance rates rise during gubernatorial election years.

Schmoozing and late-night activity remain the trip's focus.

Immediately upon arrival at Union Station, some participants walked to an Irish pub for more fraternizing. The Chamber sponsors a pre-dinner reception at the Marriott Wardman Park and then a "dessert extravaganza" after. Four receptions at the hotel were slated to feature networking "late into the night," according to the announcement.

The action continues at scores of invite-only dinners and parties scattered across the Capitol. And at the very end of the night, clumps of revelers gather at the Marriott's bar until the wee hours.

Colorful stories from the train over the years abound: a dinner that unexpectedly ended with a $6,000 bill; a former Assemblyman who vomited on a plant in the Marriott; commemorative coins and wine bottles inscribed with the names and images of elected officials.

A particular source of anxiety for political types was once their status in a custom deck of playing cards made by one lobbying firm, with officials' names ascribed to the cards based on their net worth. The cards are no longer issued.

Mr. Christie has criticized the trip as symbolic of New Jersey's backroom politics reputation. He has spoken at three of its keynote dinners but doesn't view the train ride as an efficient use of his time, spokesman Michael Drewniak said. "He understands it's a long-held tradition," Mr. Drewniak said. But he "prefers to take care of business and meet them on the other side."

Still, Mr. Christie held a campaign event prior to the train's departure that was close enough for reporters to attend, where he received the endorsement of the Democratic mayor of Harrison. And Sen. Barbara Buono, the presumed Democratic nominee for governor, shook hands and distributed campaign buttons along the length of the train.

"We're talking about my message. This issue is jobs," said Ms. Buono, who said she planned to meet with the Democratic Governor's Association while in Washington.

After 50 trips, Mr. Byrne said he still sees the value of the business contacts and friendships he maintains through the train ride. And will he attend next year?

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